I slowly rechecked all of my gear and clothing.

I hoped that if I dawdled Matthew would suddenly walk in and say, "Oh, you know what? This was a mistake all along! I just realized that the elder is really a pretty good guy! We can all stay home, where it's safe…"

But that, my friend, was a completely shallow and selfish wish.

My fingers gently pulled the lace curtains on my window back a peep, hoping to catch sight of Nick in the crowd. It was strange, considering the fact that I hadn't thought I had very many friends, there were at least fifty people I knew wandering around in Matthew's front yard, all ready to see me off. At least a fourth of them were crying hysterically over their "Sweet little girl". Which wasn't a very good encouragement for me, considering I was already scared silly about the war, and add to that that they were acting like I was going to have tea with death himself... I was terrified… absolutely TERRIFIED.

I dropped the curtain back and took a shuddering breath. Everything was still moving at high speed, making me have to pause and catch my breath from time to time.

I heaved my pack onto my shoulder and snatched up my intimidating leather armor. Then I walked through the kitchen to the back door.

My boots crunched on the dirt as I walked across the back yard, unnoticed by the mingling crowd up front.

When I reached the barn I quietly shoved the door open with my foot. I wasn't trying to sneak around or anything, but I wasn't ready to face anyone yet. I was sure that fear still lurked in my eyes, sticking out like a sore thumb, for everyone to witness and judge. I knew the nerves would wear off the closer I got to the actual fighting; Nick had informed me that adrenalin would replace the worry soon enough, but I didn't want to appear weak in the eyes of people who were depending on me.

When my eyes adjusted to the dark barn I cautiously approached the massive pitch black steed that Matthew had acquired for me. He had been tamed, but the horse's size always intimidated me when Matthew wasn't around to hold the reigns for me. Titus was the beast's name. He was actually a rather gentle horse when it came to me, but, I had witnessed him throw a man with triple the riding experience that I had. So my view on him had had a dark spot since the beginning.

"Hey, boy." I said gently, smoothly opening the gate and stepping in, not wanting to startle him in any way.

He whinnied softly in reply. I smiled to myself when I realized that he already had on a saddle, making my job so much easier. I gently tried lifting my bag over his high back, but after a few attempts, I wondered how Matthew and Nick managed to do it all the time. And usually they had heavier stuff than just a sack roll and some light armor.

I hissed in frustration when one of the straps holding all my armor together tugged free as I lifted, scattering leather and metal all around my feet. I cursed one of the lesser profanities I had picked up from hanging around Andrew, and ran a hand through my slightly tangled hair. Titus snorted as he watched me, and I threw a glare at him in anger. "Why do you have to be so difficult?" I asked him.

All he did was stare at me, as if to say, "I was standing perfectly still, you clumsy human."

I sighed, letting my anger fade away. Patting Titus' neck gently, "Are you scared, boy?" I whispered, leaning into his strong side while letting my arm wrap around his neck. He snorted again, deeply. I smiled sadly at him.

"You would go and tell a horse how scared you are, out of everyone that you could have come to." A deep voice suddenly spoke from behind me at the gate.

I whirled around, Nick stood there, leaning against the doorway.

"I… I wasn't sure where you were… So I couldn't have told you." Lamest excuse ever to come from my mouth.

He raised an eyebrow at me, doubting my words, and knowing full well that I could have found him if I wanted to. Then he pushed off the wall and bent to gather my things from the ground. He seemed upset, and his deliberate movements only made the worry gnawing at me intensify.

I watched him wrap the armor carefully back up, then he easily lifted it onto Titus' back and strapped it on. My eyes took in every single movement. During those whole minutes, not once did his face change from the impassive expression.

When he finished securing my bags, he turned to me suddenly. I blushed and averted my eyes to the wall as I realized he had caught me staring at him.

His hand was suddenly on my arm, "Rachel."

I slowly met his brown eyes with my own. Worry emanated from his frame. He bent his head to he could see my face better in the dark barn, "You do have a choice, you know." He whispered.

I sighed, now was not the time to tempt me with a way out. I backed away from him slowly. As I did his face clouded in confusion. I let myself back into a wall, and I just stood there, watching him. I was distancing myself from the possibility, but also making sure I was doing the right thing by fighting.

"I know you're worried. And I know how dangerous it is. I know I don't have nearly as many men as we would all like," The vision I had weeks ago turned out to be roughly correct in how many soldiers I had. It had somehow boiled down to seven hundred fifty-three men. It seemed a lot, but when the numbers were put up against the biggest city in the world, it didn't seem that the odds were very favorable. "But I absolutely do not have a choice. This is what I was born for. My whole life has been leading up to this. I will not quit on some petty bit of fear." I said it all in a quiet voice, without meeting Nick's eyes.

He took my hand and pulled me gently out of the stall, shutting it behind us.

He took me up to the back of the house and I sighed, "We should probably head on around to the front, everyone's waiting for us." I said, beginning to walk.

Nick didn't budge, and I was pulled back to him before I could get more than a few feet away. "Would you stand still for a moment?" He asked in an exasperated tone, "I have something to give you."

"What?" I asked, a smile coming onto my lips.

He looked towards the side of the house and whistled loudly, "Here, boy!" He called.

A black and brown dog came racing towards him from the front of the house, it pulled up just short of slamming into Nick's legs.

Nick knelt down and started rubbing behind the dog's ears. He looked up to me and smiled, "He's yours."

I gasped and knelt down beside him, "He's beautiful!" I said, letting him sniff the tips of my fingers before scratching his neck. It suddenly lurched towards me, knocking me into the dirt, and started licking my face. I laughed and pushed the over excited dog off. "What's his name?" I asked without looking away from the adorable pooch.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I've been calling him dog… and boy." He said. "Before he got big I called him puppy."

I frowned, "Mean old Nick didn't give you a name, did he? You poor sweetie!" I said, burying my face in the dog's side while I talked gibberish to it.

Nick's deep laugh made me pull my face away and frown at him, "What?" I snapped, thinking he was making fun of me.

His smile was soft, "I'm really glad you like him." I melted at those words.

Throwing my arms around his neck, I whispered, "Thank you… It's the best present you could have given me."

When I pulled back his face was serious. "I got him a long time ago as a puppy for you. And I would have given you him then, but I wanted to train him first."

"Train?" I asked.

He absently stroked the dog's fur, "Matthew and I trained him for your protection in battle… He's able to kill. Not that you would know it just by looking at him. But if it comes down to it, and it will, he'll attack anybody meaning to harm you. Anyone who comes up against him won't have a chance."

"I can't imagine it." I said, even as he licked my face again. "He's so sweet."

"Just like you." He said, "I can't imagine you killing anyone…"

I winced, "I guess we have something in common then." I said, letting my forehead rest against the dog. "We should go on up I suppose."

Nick agreed and walked with me around to the front of house.

Everything went in a blur from then on. The rest of the morning was full of people saying meaningless words and hugging me while their tears fell onto my shirt.

The only time I caught a breath was when Matthew and Mrs. Jackson pulled me aside into the kitchen.

"I'm going to have to leave earlier than you… I'm stationed on the other side, so it will take my group longer to reach our destination than you, Nick, and Daniel. You three will be flanking me.

"Speaking of Daniel, when do I get to officially meet him? Surely he'll be around here before we leave?" I asked hopefully. Daniel Theomore was the man who I had seen speaking with Matthew that night almost a month ago. And he was also the son of The Elder. I couldn't help but show interest in him.

"Your groups will cross paths at least twice during the time of the siege. He's passing you at Fairina, and Port Frounth, and possibly he'll stay with you near the end until Nick and I catch up. But his army has already departed, so you won't be meeting him until you capture the city of Fairina." Matthew said, and I heard him, but I had listened to so much about the cities I would be capturing lately that I tuned him out once I got the information I wanted.

Mrs. Jackson was silent for the whole time, but once Matthew left she spoke to me. "I'm going to miss you all when you're gone… But you are the person I'll miss most." She said with a soft smile.

I laughed, "You'll miss me more than your own son?"

"It may seem wrong, but you're as close as a daughter to me as Nick is a son." She said. "I'm just waiting for the day that I can call you daughter."

A nervous giggle escaped from me. I hadn't even begun thinking about Nick proposing until she said that.

But once I thought about it I knew Nick had been thinking heavily in that area, and it upset me. "I think Nick is reluctant to broach that subject… I'm not sure why. It's like he thinks his social status isn't good enough for me. Which I don't understand. He's a prince too, right?" She nodded in reply, and I continued, "Why did Andrew also seem to think that he would be a better choice for me than Nick? Andrew isn't even royalty." I figured if anyone could tell me what was going on it would be Mrs. Jackson.

She smiled sadly, "Both of Andrew's parents are full blooded nobles. Whereas Nick was born a half blood. I was a servant to your mother… She was my best friend. Nick's father came across me before your parents even met. So the blueblood fell in love with the peasant. We didn't tell anyone that we got married. I didn't even tell your mother. Which, believe me, was the hardest thing I had ever done. But I knew if the Elders found out they would kill William for marrying a commoner, and a servant at that. So I kept my lips sealed for his sake." She suddenly laughed, "The problem with keeping secrets from your mother, she could read me like a book, and was a very curious young girl. But it didn't help that soon after I found out I was pregnant with Nick. It didn't take much for her to figure everything out. About a year and a half later your parents married. William and I by their sides every step of the way." She sighed at the bittersweet memory.

"I've never heard your story before…" My smile wobbled some, "I wish I had known him."

"Who dear? Your father?" She asked.

"Nick's father." I said, feeling that not knowing that man was a loss.

"He had a good heart." She said with a warm smile. "We've been standing here talking and you need to be leaving soon." She said, stepping forward and giving me a hug. "I might as well get my goodbyes in now, it won't be as meaningful in between one of those random people out there." She kissed me, "I know you'll be just fine." She said with a confident smile. "I'm very proud of you, and I'm certain your parents would be too if they were here."

"Thank-you." I hugged her back.

She smiled again. "You're welcome." Her voiced dropped to a whisper, "I'm sure he's just waiting for the right moment to ask you." She said, referring to Nick.

I smiled awkwardly, "I'm sure." I echoed.

When we stepped outside I saw that it was indeed time for me to leave. Titus was standing at the end of the pathway in the yard. And Nick, Andrew, and Jonathan were all already mounted on their horses, the dog standing faithfully by their side.

We would be meeting the rest of our army at the edge of town.

I stepped down from my place on the front porch steps, and everybody turned towards me. They came forwards one by one, hugging me and saying goodbye. When I finally worked my way to Titus I had become annoyed with all the people. Mrs. Jackson had been right, none of the words or hugs that anyone gave me was meaningful. I was just going through the motions.

"Ready?" Nick asked.

I nodded indifferently. "Let's go."

(A/N)

Hello!

नमस्ते

I think... that this is my favorite chapter yet.

Hopefully you all like it,

Nothing much happened, but maybe some stuff was cleared up for you.

So, I'm looking through my stats, and there are a whole bunch of views on this story from people in India... I just wanna say, Hi.

Anyyway, Review please.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter.

I love you... seriously.

DaughterOfNoOne; I do like that idea, but I can't make a sequel, do to some things that I can't tell you yet because it would ruin the story for you and everyone else. :D

Pokemonchen; Lol, Yeah... I hate that guy. He's not gonna be in any further chapters... He's too dumb for me. :/ And don't worry, they're both dead... apparently they both slipped on some ice and hit their heads... yeah ice... in July... :D nobody saw anything. ;)

Guest; Smiley, I assume? Anyway. Yeah, insane people... And I'm glad you think Nick and Rachel go good together. I think their freaking adorable if I do say so myself. :)

Booksnake; You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you like this. THANK-YOU! XD

Who liked all the animals in this chap?

Anyone who wants to can input on what the dog's name should be. It's a mix between a German shepherd and a Doberman,

so it's a pretty big dog. And I'm coming up short on names.

Review. :D

P.S. Check out my stories on Fictionpress ~ TheClassicCriminal | FictionPress